Six Life Lessons From the Battle of Gettysburg

[B-Man]

 

Good read

Six Life Lessons From the Battle of Gettysburg

https://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/six-life-lessons-from-the-battle-of-gettysbur

 

 

Fixed?

Edited July 1, 2018 by B-Man

[Steve O]

Lee really messed up the battle or the South could very well have won the war.

The story in number 3 was the best lesson, had never heard that before.

Probably 25 years ago I heard that 4 out of 5 Americans don't know when the Civil War was fought. Through the years I've had a several chances to test this and sadly found that statistic to be accurate. Latest chance was just a few weeks ago, not sure how it came up. 3 had no idea, one knew it ended in 1865 but thought it only lasted a year or two. 

Good read, thanks

 

[row_33]

Read up for months and took the medium-length individual guided tour (2 hours??) a few summers ago.

 

Well worth it.

 

 

 

I was assured that Little Round Top was the same size as it was then. 

[BuffaloBill]

It moves you just to walk the fields of Gettysburg.  I highly reccomend a visit there to anyone who has not seen it.

[Marv's Neighbor]

Unbelievable courage and valor, on both sides!  That movie seems to be  a very accurate depiction.

[CookieG]

Life lesson 7....take the high ground.

 

 

It could be my favorite speech in the movie.

[stuvian]

being Canadian, I didn't expect to be moved by my trip to Gettysburg but I very much was. Lee's foray into the North at Gettysburg still strikes me as fatal hubris. I believe that the South would have held the Confederacy had they just stayed within their own states.

 

I will never buy that the war was fought for slavery. As it was before the income tax, 80% of the country's customs revenue came through New Orleans. The loss of that revenue would have made the federally governed continental US an impossibility. War is always about money and power and this one was no different.

 

Every other nation that had slavery ended it by legislation. The practice would have eventually died off under the weight of its immorality. The South was filled with manumission societies that fundraised to free individual slaves. Unfortunately that has been lost in the collective memory so we are now led to believe that every southerner is a white supremacist by virtue of their birthplace - such a sad and unneccessary stereo type.

[Augie]

I’m sure there are countless great sources if you appreciate this stuff, but I’d HIGHLY recommend the Atlanta History Center (in Buckhead). It was never really my cup of tea, but we went a while back shortly before closing. I saw enough that I need to go back. I had no idea the Republicans had nominated someone else at their convention in Chicago to replace Lincoln, someone who would “settle” with the south. Then, within days (maybe the same weekend?), Sherman took Atlanta which was the railroad hub largely supplying the Confederates. To this day a giant azz railway hub exists. (Lots of friggin’ trains!)  The tune changed and they said “HEY! Maybe we could pull this off?” Yes, it’s very Atlanta-centric, but if you like the topic it’s well worth your time. Just my two cents on something I know little about.

Edited July 4, 2018 by Augie

[KD in CA]

4 hours ago, CookieG said:

Life lesson 7....take the high ground.

 

 

It could be my favorite speech in the movie.

 

+1 

 

And there were a bunch of other great speeches....that movie was really enjoyable, especailly for me as I'm pretty sure it's the only movie my father and I watched together in a theatre ever.  Need to carve out a good long evening to rewatch it one of these days.

[Max Fischer]

The author laments that Lee is "often maligned in these 'politically correct' days, yet his article outlines several significant errors Lee made just at Gettysburg. So, perhaps the criticism is justified?  At the end, the author calls him a man of "integrity" for taking the blame for Pickett's Charge. Who else should have taken the blame?  His slaves?  

 

 

16 hours ago, CookieG said:

Life lesson 7....take the high ground.

 

 

It could be my favorite speech in the movie.

 

One of history's greatest lessons that is continually ignored: location, location, location

[row_33]

15 hours ago, stuvian said:

being Canadian, I didn't expect to be moved by my trip to Gettysburg but I very much was. Lee's foray into the North at Gettysburg still strikes me as fatal hubris. I believe that the South would have held the Confederacy had they just stayed within their own states.

 

I will never buy that the war was fought for slavery. As it was before the income tax, 80% of the country's customs revenue came through New Orleans. The loss of that revenue would have made the federally governed continental US an impossibility. War is always about money and power and this one was no different.

 

Every other nation that had slavery ended it by legislation. The practice would have eventually died off under the weight of its immorality. The South was filled with manumission societies that fundraised to free individual slaves. Unfortunately that has been lost in the collective memory so we are now led to believe that every southerner is a white supremacist by virtue of their birthplace - such a sad and unneccessary stereo type.

 

any personal thoughts of the park itself?

 

as in "that was the peach orchard????"

 

 

 

it took how many horses to move and position a cannon? 

[stuvian]

19 hours ago, row_33 said:

 

any personal thoughts of the park itself?

 

as in "that was the peach orchard????"

 

 

 

it took how many horses to move and position a cannon? 

I was surprised how small "Little RoundTop" was in relation to its importance

[row_33]

3 hours ago, stuvian said:

I was surprised how small "Little RoundTop" was in relation to its importance

 

for sure, i asked the personal guide at least 6 times, "this is the same dimensions as the battle???"  he said YUP, he was tipped quite well for his time dealing with me..

 

 

[Lurker]

48 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

for sure, i asked the personal guide at least 6 times, "this is the same dimensions as the battle???"  he said YUP, he was tipped quite well for his time dealing with me..

 

 

 

Somewhat OT, but I had a similar experience at the Antietam battlefield.  The Park Service guide who led our walk, interpreting what happened, was outstanding.  He  painted a vivid verbal picture of how the battle played out, all the little details that turned the tide, the amazing logistical feats and errors.   It was almost mystical, thinking about what transpired.

 

Walking those battlefields, as well as Gettysburg, is the best way I know to give pause to the current divisiveness the country is experiencing...

 

Edited July 4, 2018 by Lurker

[row_33]

26 minutes ago, Lurker said:

 

Somewhat OT, but I had a similar experience at the Antietam battlefield.  The Park Service guide who led our walk, interpreting what happened, was outstanding.  He  painted a vivid verbal picture of how the battle played out, all the little details that turned the tide, the amazing logistical feats and errors.   It was almost mystical, thinking about what transpired.

 

Walking those battlefields, as well as Gettysburg, is the best way I know to give pause to the current divisiveness the country is experiencing...

 

 

today is still 1/10th of the late 60-early 70s nastiness, until The Draft ended

 

the tour at G starts with the Confederate placement, the theatre of battle is a half mile deep and 2 1/2 miles wide, and then goes to the Union side for the so-called hilltops" , ending with the flat land of Pickett's Charge from the Union's placement.

 

 

Edited July 4, 2018 by row_33

[RaoulDuke79]

I live 2 counties over from Gettysburg and have never toured 5he battlefield. Definitely something I mean to do in the future.

 

One of my main concerns when they were removing all of the Confederate monuments and things was how it was going to affect Gettysburg. 

[B-Man]

 

[row_33]

1 hour ago, RaoulDuke79 said:

I live 2 counties over from Gettysburg and have never toured 5he battlefield. Definitely something I mean to do in the future.

 

One of my main concerns when they were removing all of the Confederate monuments and things was how it was going to affect Gettysburg. 

 

The Arkansas contribution has soldiers marching over Lincoln's body.

 

 

[RaoulDuke79]

This was a key event in the civil war  that happened  right by where I live. There's a decent  tavern right on the bridge that has cool stuff going on.

 

https://pacivilwartrails.com/stories/tales/burning-the-wrightsville-bridge

[JohnC]

On 7/2/2018 at 8:31 PM, stuvian said:

being Canadian, I didn't expect to be moved by my trip to Gettysburg but I very much was. Lee's foray into the North at Gettysburg still strikes me as fatal hubris. I believe that the South would have held the Confederacy had they just stayed within their own states.

 

I will never buy that the war was fought for slavery. As it was before the income tax, 80% of the country's customs revenue came through New Orleans. The loss of that revenue would have made the federally governed continental US an impossibility. War is always about money and power and this one was no different.

 

Every other nation that had slavery ended it by legislation. The practice would have eventually died off under the weight of its immorality. The South was filled with manumission societies that fundraised to free individual slaves. Unfortunately that has been lost in the collective memory so we are now led to believe that every southerner is a white supremacist by virtue of their birthplace - such a sad and unneccessary stereo type.

The South was under siege and losing the battle of the resources. The Confederates were being strangled in their own territories and time was not on their side. One of his reasons for moving out of the south and into the north is that he wanted to have the Union troops dedicate their resources in pursuing him and not stationed in the south where the inhabitants were surrounded and under siege.

 

It wasn't hubris that afflicted Lee and made him to move up into the North. It was a purposeful strategy in which he believed that winning a decisive battle in Yankee territory would have an influence in forcing the North to come to some political settlement with the South. Lee knew very well that as time went by the better resourced North was going to win the battle of attrition. 

 

As far as your belief that legislation was going to end slavery in the south that makes no sense because the south was fighting to secede in order to ferociously cling to their institutions that included slavery.  Would slavery have died under the weight of its immorality, as you believe? Maybe so. But how many decades and even generations would it have taken to accomplish that? 

 

Your claim that most people believe the stereotype that every white southerner is a racist by virtue of their birthplace is a preposterous notion. Where did you get that zany idea from? 

Edited July 4, 2018 by JohnC